Closure element for air ducts



June 3, 1952 D. Hfs'rRouP 2,599,075

CLOSURE ELEMENT FOR AIR DUCTS Filed Jan. 5. 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET '1 Inventor DONALD H. STROUP torneys June 3, 1952 D. 'H. STROUP 2,599,075

CLOSURE ELEMENT FOR AIR nud'm Filed Jan. 5, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Inventor DONALD H. STROUP the appended drawings.

Patented June 3, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE j 7 2,599,075 I CLOSURE ELEMENT ron AIR nuc'rs Donald H. Stroup, Cleveland, Application January 3, 1949, Serial No. 68,987

*4 Claims. (01. 98-419) 1 My invention relates to an improved closure element for air ducts used with ventiiatingfans of the type commonly employed in domestic use.

. It has been the practice to install fans of this type in an upper wall of the kitchens, of modern homes, said fans being operated by push buttons or the like, a conduit leading air drawn by the fan through an air duct, or a conduit to an open ingcut in the siding on the exterior of the house. Different types of closure elements have been placed in the siding to close the end of such conduits and these have generally involved the use of a plurality of louver boards, shutters, or the like. These louvers swing to open position when air is being forced through the conduit andwhen the fan is operating. When the fan is disconnected these are hingedly inter-connected in such a manner that they fall back in lapped conduit closed position. One of the defects inherent in such constructions resides in the fact that these are not securely held in closed position and hence are susceptible to being acted upon by air on the outside of the house and whenever a fairly strong breeze is blowing, the louvers have a tendency to be lifted from the outside by the wind and to open and shut according to the velocity of such wind resulting in an objectionable flapping noise which may further result in damage to the shutters or louvers themselves. It is an object of my invention to provide a closure element for conduits of the type aforementioned which may easily be opened by greater than atmospheric pressure to permit passage of air from the interior of the house when th fan is in the "on position and which will also be securely held in conduit closed position when the fan is in its off" position.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved closure element of the type referred to composed of but few operating parts. economical in manufacture and highly eflicient in use.

Otherobjects of my invention and the invention itself will become more readily apparent from a perusal of the description which follows, in which description reference will be made to the fan "on" posi- Fig. 4 is a side plan view of the device of my invention in an intermediate position between the final fanf on" and fan off position;

Fig. 515 a side plan view of a part of the device of Figs. 1 to gtinclusive, said portions being broken away to show the stem clearly.

Fig. 6 is a side plan view of an embodiment of my inventior'ig the closure element and associated means being slhown in solid line in the fan oif" position and 'in dotted lines in the fan on" position;

Fig. 7 is a front plan view of the device of the embodiment of my invention of Fig. 6, shown in solid line position;

Fig. 8 is ajfront plan view of the device of the embodiment of my invention of Fig. 6 shown in the fan on position;

Fig. 9 is a' 'side plan view of the device of the embodiment of my invention in an intermediate position between the final fan on" and fan off position;

Fig. 10 is aside plan view of a part of the embodiment of'Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive, said portions being broken away to show the stem clearly.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings in all of which like parts are designated by like character references, at H) I show an elongated bog: like air duct or conduit. As will be well understood in the art, this conduit extends through an opening in the walls of the house from .the exterior siding to the interior wall and a fan is adapted to be associated therewith on thefinterior wall of the house and air adapted to be drawn by the fan into said passage. The closure element H is shown as a single fiat louver board or shutter but may be composed of a plurality of overlapping louver boards; it is adapted-to completely cover the conduit openings and.) as best shown in Fig. 2, is hingedly connected to the conduit ill by means of a pair of flat louver supporting members l2 bolted or otherwise fastened to the upper face of the side portions of the conduit l0 by bolts l3, screws or'the like, a portion of each said member I! being adapted to project forwardly ofthe outer face of the conduit Ill and to carry hing'ing means ll adapted to be secured to the uppe portion of the louver or flap element I I.

Centrally of the forward face of thelouver "board H a U-shaped clip I4 is secured and aligned therewith. At the upper portion of the forward face of said element II is a relatively The channel or compartment formed by the slanted board 50 and the inner face of the upper portion of the conduit and of the side portions of the conduit will, it is believed, assist in holding the flap or shutter closure element 6| in secure engagement against the face of the conduit by drawing a portion of any outside air forces or wind into the triangular compartment Where it will exert a LfOICE-J against the weight to hold the Weight even more securely in engagement with the portion 16 of the element mounted on the outer face of the flap 6|.

Although I have described my invention in connection with said preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that numerous changes and various departures may be made therefrom as, for example, using multi-louvers or side placement of the weighted elements, without, however, departing from the spirit of my invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an air outlet device, a source of air flow greater than atmospheric pressure, said air flow adapted to be turned on and off, the said air flow flowing through said conduit, a flap element hingedly secured to said conduit, a weighted element consisting of a stem and a weight, pivot means secured to a center portion of said flap element and extending outwardly therefrom, guide means secured to said flap element above said pivot means and extending outwardly of the flap element, said stem being telescoped through said guide means and pivoted upon said pivot means, the weight being disposed upwardly of the flap element wherefor the weighted portion of said weighted element is disposed outwardly of said hinged connection of the conduit and the flap element when the air flow is off, said weighted element, when the air flow is on, being adapted to operate as a counterweight holding said flap element away from the conduit opening when said weight passes the hinged point under the force of air flow of greater than atmospheric pressure exerted upon the flap.

2. In an air outlet control device, an air outlet conduit, a closure element for said air outlet conduit hingedly secured to the upper portion of said conduit, a weighted element comprising a support member adapted to be pivotally mounted upon said closure element and a weighted member adapted to be supported by said support member above the hinged connection of said closure element and said conduit, guide means secured to said closure element disposed adjacent said hinged connection of said closure element and said conduit and being so disposed with respect to said weighted member as to control the extent of pivotal movement of said weighted element, said weighted member operating as a weight when pivoted forwardly of the hinged connection of the closure element and air outlet conduit assists in closing and holding the closure element against the air outlet conduit and operating as a counterweight when positioned rearwardly of the said hinged connection to assist in opening and holding the closure element away from the air outlet conduit.

3. In an air outlet control device, an air outlet conduit, a closure element for said air outlet conduit hingedly secured to the upper portion of said conduit, a weighted element comprising a support member adapted to be pivotally mounted upon said closure element and a weighted member adapted to be supported by said support member above the hinged connection of said closure element and said conduit, said weighted element being of a weight slightly less than the weight of the closure element, guide means secured to said closure element disposed adjacent said hinged connection of said closure element and said conduit and being so disposed with respect to said Weighted member as to control the extent of pivotal movement of said weighted element, said weighted member acting as a weight when pivoted forwardly of the hinged connection of the closure element and air outlet conduit to assist in closing and holding the closure element against the air outlet conduit and operating as a counterweight when positioned rearwardly of the said hinged connection to assist in opening and holding the closure element away from the air outlet conduit.

4. In an air outlet control device, an air outlet conduit, a closure element for said air outlet conduit, hingedly secured to said conduit, said closure element being so disposed and of such size as to cover the air conduit opening, means secured to and projecting outwardly of said closure element, a weighted element comprising a support member and a weighted member, said weighted element being pivotally mounted upon said first named means, said weighted portion of said element being disposed above said closure means, guide means secured to and projecting outwardly of said closure element, said guide means disposed upwardly of and substantially in alignment with the said first named means, said guide means being so disposed with respect to said weighted element as to control the extent of movement of said weighted element with respect to said closure element, said weighted element operating as a weight when positioned forwardly of the hinged connection of the closure element and air outlet conduit to assist in closing and holding the closure element against the air outlet conduit and operating as a counterweight when positioned rearwardly of the said hinged connection to assist in opening and holding the closure element away from the air outlet conduit upon the application of air internally against the closure element.

DONALD H. STROUP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date 

